Jerome ‘turning the corner,’ Lopez says

Things have settled down in the village of Jerome and are on a positive track, says Village President Mike Lopez. But some there still see problems.

By Bernard SchoenburgPolitical Writer

Things have settled down in the village of Jerome and are on a positive track, says Village President Mike Lopez.

But some there still see problems.

Tucked into the southwest side of Springfield between Leland Grove and Southern View, the village of about 1,700 people saw months of turmoil in 2012 as a combination of issues including difficult finances led to packed board meetings.

The former village president, Harry Stirmell, also was still in office when his son, Steven, was indicted on a charge of official misconduct for allegedly filing information he knew was false concerning a traffic stop he made when he was a Jerome patrolman. A trial is now set for January in that case.

Harry Stirmell, who had been in office since 2005, resigned in November 2012 citing a lack of support among trustees and “extreme stress” to himself and his family, including “anonymous derogatory mail received by my wife and mother-in-law.”

“The village suffered through a lot of Jerome-gate,” Lopez said in a recent interview. “There was a lot of scrutiny, a lot of hearsay, rumors, facts, allegations, that tore the village apart. … At one point … we had state police present, and county police at our board meetings to preserve the peace in case things got out of hand.”

But while some meetings back then drew 125 people, he said, now “we’re down to about 20.”

He said things “started getting quieter” when interim president Scott McTaggert, who had been a trustee, ran the city.

“And now they’ve gotten quieter under my administration,” Lopez said.

Too much spending?

Lopez, who had also been a trustee, defeated McTaggert by a vote of 278-214 in April for a full term as president.

Also in that election, voters in Jerome voted 380-115 to approve a 1 percentage point increase in the sales tax, taking it to 7.25 percent. Lopez said he expects that extra revenue to flow by mid-2014, though it could be earlier. He said the $65,000 to $85,000 a year will help with infrastructure such as improving streets.

Money remains a significant problem, according to Sharon McConnell, a member of the Jerome Village Board.

“I just don’t think that this board is working together,” McConnell said. “We have many financial problems here . … The new board votes to spend, and every single meeting, I have voted the opposite way because we’ve got to stop spending. We have not been in the black since ’07. How many years can you spend more than you take in?”

Lopez said the annual city budget for most services is about $1.1 million, and the annual budget in the water fund is more than $480,000.

Lopez said that in the past, the city’s main budget borrowed $150,000 from the water fund. He said McTaggert’s administration tried to implement regular repayments, and that now continues, with a goal, when possible, of paying back $5,000 a month. But he said about $130,000 is still owed.

Other than that debt, Lopez said, the city’s main budget was about $1,050 in the black as of Oct. 31.

Concerns addressed

Another trustee, Rob Winchester, praised the current government.

“Mike’s doing a wonderful job,” Winchester said. “A lot of the concerns that the residents had from the previous administration are really being addressed. I think we’re really getting on sound financial footing.”

Lopez said some savings have come in personnel. Longtime Police Chief Rich Gerlach retired, and the new acting chief, Craig Kennedy, is paid somewhat less. Two part-timers are now doing office work, instead of a full-time person, he added. The village now has 10 full-time workers, he said.

He also cited the addition of businesses, such as reopening of the Barrel Head restaurant along Wabash Avenue, as helping Jerome’s bottom line. That business was among those damaged by tornadoes in 2006.

Lopez said he’s been cautiously adding back some services, like a village cleanup, with pickup of large items, once every two years.

He and others paid the costs, he said, of this year’s July 4 parade.

But a holiday celebration that had been scheduled for Dec. 8 had to be canceled after it was announced. Private donations again would have amounted to what Lopez estimated to be about $1,000.

A notice residents received said: “Our small group of faithful volunteers cannot bear the workload and financial cost by themselves. There will be no community events until Village funds are available.”

“They made promises they can’t keep,” said Jerome resident Connie Sebok about receiving that notice.

No promises

Lopez is a Moline native who has lived in Jerome since the early 1990s. He and his wife, Gail, have two children. One of them, Adam Lopez, was elected to the Springfield School Board the same day Lopez won his race for village president.

Lopez, 56, works as a field researcher for Sangamon County 911. He also works part time on weekends at the Kmart in east Springfield.

His goal as village president?

“Just to maintain a community for our friendly neighbors,” Lopez said. “Just to grow old and retire and just have a good life. That’s what I’m striving for.”

“I’m not going to make any promises,” he added, “but we’re turning the corner.”

Information

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